Culture, Nationalism, and the Role of Intellectuals: An Interview with Aijaz Ahmad

Abstract

Q: Cultural studies are currently in vogue in the Atlantic academy. Although many academics would claim that their cultural criticism is itself profoundly subversive, they regard as "vulgar" any cultural work that connects theory to political commitment outside the academy. So, for example, two of the most frequently cited precursors of cultural studies—Antonio Gramsci and Raymond Williams—are turned simply into cultural thinkers, though both were politically active intellectuals. How would you respond to this conception of cultural studies?

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